


She is NOT your mother

by AAMain



Series: Time Travel Trash [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Background Reylo Romance, Ben Solo Also Swears, Force Bond (Star Wars), Gen, Kid Luke, Little Luke Needs A Hug, Parallel Universes, Time Travel, Young Luke, grandma Leia, mention of childhood trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23797963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AAMain/pseuds/AAMain
Summary: They kissed.Then Ben felt something, no, someone was tugging his trousers.“Daddy?” A tiny voice asked, “Is she my new mommy?”This time, Ben accidentally pulled Luke here. The worst part is, he had to pretend to be the fake father of five-year-old Luke. And little Luke seemed to believe Rey would be his new mother.Guess how did that happen?----------------------------------------------------------------So this is five-year-old Luke Skywalker in ep9 timeline.And of course Ben Solo lives.
Relationships: Luke Skywalker & Ben Solo, Rey & Luke Skywalker, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Time Travel Trash [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714552
Comments: 129
Kudos: 136





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Content Warning: The author has absolutely no idea what she was writing.
> 
> For those who haven't read I am NOT your father, I strongly recommend you read the previous part first since the plot (that's right, there is plot in this, surprise) is kind of coherent.

_Endor System_  
_Kef Bir_  
_Ruins of DS-2 Death Star_

_“Ben.”_

The waves were so violent that it was practically raining, pouring. His vision blurred. It was not just the rain, also the pain. Rey stabbed him. He was losing his life as every second passed.

Then Rey knelt down beside him, she put her hand on his chest. Rey was _healing_ him.

“I did want to take your hand.” Rey said, “Ben’s hand.”

Rey left.

He had been wrong. He had believed that it was too late, that he could never go back to his mother, or he had been convinced so. But he was wrong. He still got the chance to do the right thing.

Standing on the broken bridge, looking over the growling sea, all he wished right now was to see his father again, to hear Han’s voice, to feel Han’s hand on his face one more time.

He sensed something. _He had a bad feeling about this._

He turned around.

 _Terrific_ , it was the same five-year-old Luke Kriffing Skywalker standing right in front of him.

And——

“Dad?” Luke blinked sleepily, “Am I dreaming?”

* * *

He shouldn’t be surprised. He had been through this before. Yet still——

Wait a sec, how come Luke got to travel around with his clothes on? That’s not fair!

Fuck, that’s not the point. The point is there is only several hours before Palpatine lauches the Final Order, and now he has a kid with him. How did Luke get here anyway? He knew Luke was definitely NOT _his_ father.

“Can’t you just go back to where you came from?” Ben was a bit irritated, he had certain things to do, he can’t carry a kid with him.

“What? Ain’t I dreaming this?” Luke was bewildered. Poor little Luke, he was sleeping when Ben accidently pulled him here, he was dreaming he finally met his father.

Okay, he’s had enough.

 _Rey._ Ben called through their force bond.

There was no answer, but he knew she was listening.

_Listen. I need yo——_

Rey cut him off.

He was gonna say _need your help_! Your Help! Not _I need you_. Who does she think he is? Some kind of pervert who gets turned on for being stabbed? Well now that he gave it a second thought, the part which he got poked through wasn’t necessarily enjoyable, but the previous fighting ... That was quite arousing, wasn’t it?

Oh damn it! You got a kid in front you and now you’re thinking about _that_? Keep it in your pants Ben Solo! It’s not the time!

“Hello?” Luke’s trembling voice interrupted his thoughts, “I’m freezing here.”

Judging from Luke’s face, the kid probably still thought he was in a dream.

Ben took off his cape and found it all damp and heavy. He couldn’t keep Luke warm with it, so he just throw it into the water. Perhaps there were something Luke could wear back on his TIE Silencer. To tell the truth he was gonna throw away his light saber, now he thought better of it.

“Let’s get you inside.” Ben resigned and reached out his hand, Luke took it. However before long he found out that his TIE Silencer was gone. Rey took his fighter? What the fuck? If Rey didn’t want to go to Exegol with him then just ... don’t. Did she really have to fly away his ship? How would he suppose to go then? Besides, she had cut off the bond.

He could really use some magic. For once in his life Ben Solo felt that the Force is the most useless thing.

“A little disrespectful for the—— What?!”

Okay. Alright. now here comes the _another_ Luke.

“How nice of you to finally be here, _uncle_.” Ben greeted Spirit Luke with cold sarcasm, “I was just wondering where have you been all this time.”

Well, real Luke wasn’t that cool, kid got frightened. He hid himself behind Ben and popped up a little head, “Is that a ghost?”

“Pretty much.” He’s not gonna explain what is Jedi spirit to a kid, especially this is _his_ own Jedi spirit.

“Is that ... me? What the—— What? I mean, how?” Spirit Luke was completely lost.

“Time travel, parallel world, how would I know? Name it, you have it. If you are not gonna help I advise you leave right now, you’ve scared him.” Ben really wasn’t in the mood of talking.

“I thought I heard someone claiming the Force is useless so I came to give a lecture, I didn’t——” Spirit Luke suddenly paused, “Oops. Sorry, gotta go now. Rey’s gonna burn up my laser sword. Can’t let that happen.”

Well, typical Luke Skywalker, so _unreliable_.

“Tell her to return my ship!”

“Your ship is beyond saving.” Spirit Luke added his schadenfreude before vanishing.

* * *

It took Ben forever to find another TIE fighter. Thank the Maker on their way to Exegol Luke didn’t bring up the father thing. He just sat there quietly as though he was in deep thoughts.

“So I ain’t dreaming this? You, the ghost, and the ship?” Luke suddenly asked.

“Nope.” Ben replied shortly.

Luke seemed confused, it was too much for him to process. Seeing Luke’s puzzled face, Ben reached forward and pinched Luke’s little cheek.

“Aww! That hurts! Why did you do that?” Luke grumbled.

“See? It hurts, right? So you aren’t in a dream.”

“Then where am I?”

“You should ask _when_ instead of _where_. You are in the future now.”

“Am I?” Luke thought about his words for a while before he asked another question, “Am I ever going to see my aunt and uncle again?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. No one knows. You’ll have to figure it out one day on your own, kid.” Apparently Luke’s case was different from his. He didn’t know much about time travel, but again, honesty is always the best policy.

“I miss them.” Luke said in a small voice.

“I know.”

Ben was going to say something else when the ship landed with a soft impact.

“Listen up, kiddo. I have serious business down there. You stay here, okay?”

“Are you gonna come back?” Luke asked coyly.

“If I am still alive, then yes.” Ben patted Luke’s head before he left.

When he climbed down and got surrounded by his, well, _no longer his_ Knights, Palpatine was presenting his passionate speech about how Rey should strike him down and become the Sith Queen.

Rey hold up her light saber and lowered it behind her back.

 _Wanna switch blades?_ He offered.

She gave him a barely visible nod.

Rey drew back the saber, this time, she was holding the Crossguard, and she stroke Palpatine down just like she had been told.

_Pass your spirit to me? Nice try. Now say goodbye to your stupid choir._

It took them some time to get rid of the remaining Knights and guards. When all was done, they found each other in front of that hideous throne.

They kissed.

It felt so good, so _right_. He should have kissed her long ago in that elevator. Then he felt something, no, _someone_ was tugging his trousers.

Their lips broke.

“What is it?” Rey asked.

“Daddy?” A tiny voice answered the question for him, “Is she my new mommy?”

* * *

So this is the night when they touched hands all over again. And how on earth did Luke even get down here? Guess it’s all the-Force-works-in-mysterious-ways mumble jumble.

Rey nearly dropped her jaw. “What—— When did you have a son?”

“He’s not my son!” Ben exclaimed, then he turned to Luke, “And she is NOT your mother! I thought I told you to stay in the ship! Why do you have to run about? It’s dangerous down here, you could get yourself killed!”

“I got worried!” Luke protested and pouted.

Rey took Ben by the arm and give him a side look, “Easy, Ben. He’s just a kid.”

“Okay.” Ben raised his hands in surrender.

“Relax, no one is gonna get killed. You are safe with us.” Rey said briskly, “What’s your name?”

_Humph, where was your patience when I needed you? Shit, when I needed your help!_

“I’m Luke Skywalker, you can call me Luke.” Luke found this young lady was better than his, well, _not_ his father. His birth mother was long gone, if she could be his new mother, he was more than happy to accept it.

“Luke Skywalker?” Rey cast a questioning look at Ben, “The _same_ Luke Skywalker?”

“Exactly.”

Rey was astounded, “You gotta be kidding.”

“I wish I were. But I’m pretty sure you would know if I lied. It’s complicated. See it for yourself, then.” Ben opened his end of the bond wider so that Rey could see what he cannot explain.

Rey searched Ben’s memory. Her brows were knitted at first. Then a smile crept the corner of her mouth. Ben was prepared to be laughed at about he whole father drama and lizard hunting thing when Rey asked, “Did you really said your name’s Ray?”

That caught him off guard.

“I panicked, okay?” Ben made an angry face which he didn’t really mean.

Rey shot him a if-you-say-so look and he pretended he didn’t notice.

“Well, I never thought Luke was so cute when he was little. That’s quite something.” Rey commented after she retreated from Ben’s mind, “So this is ... time travel?”

 _Cute? Really?_ Ben thought he was the one who is always missing the point but now he had met the real expert here.

“Or multiuniverse. Seriously, I dunno.” Ben admitted plainly.

“It’s alright. You did it once and came back, we will figure it out. Let’s get out of here first.” Rey suggested.

Ben humphed in agreement and beckoned Luke to follow them, Luke didn’t move.

_What’s wrong with the kid this time?_

Ben studied Luke’s face for a few seconds, then he said with a sigh, “You hurt yourself again, didn’t you?”

Luke nodded.

“Where is it?”

“I sprang my ankle when I got down.” Luke whispered.

 _It’s a miracle that you didn’t break your neck._ Ben quipped silently. He bent down and put his hand on Luke’s ankle. Rey had showed him how to heal, he could do that, too.

“There, feel any better? Now let’s go.”

Luke was amazed to see his pain was gone. He did want to follow, yet he was exhausted. When he tried to get down he was too worried to notice his sore and weariness. Well, to be honest he didn’t remember much of it. It seemed to him that one second he was worried sick that if he fell no one would come to save him and the next second he was already down here. When he believed everyone was safe, he was too tired to move his legs all at once. He just wanted to lie down where he stood and go to sleep. Luke darted his eyes between Ben and Rey, and finally fixed them upon Ben.

“Oh for Star’s sake! Ben! Just pick him up already! Can’t you see? He’s tired!” Rey got impatient.

“Alright, alright. I’ll carry him.” Ben grunted, “Please don’t yell at me.”

Ben hoisted Luke up with one arm and Luke almost started to doze off immediately.

“I’m warning you. If you ever get your saliva on me, I swear to Stars I will——” Ben stopped when he felt Rey was glaring at him.

“What? I gave up the dark side. I’m still _me_. You cannot expect me to suddenly become the role model of the galaxy.” Ben argued.

Rey rolled her eyes.

This is gonna be fun, isn’t it?

\---TBC---

or maybe not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler Alert: Leia didn't die.
> 
> Please please let me know if you have anything you want to say about this fic. Feedback is always welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta Da! Guys, I could never come up with a new chapter so soon if it weren't for your amazing feedbacks!

Leia couldn’t remember how many nights she had stayed awake, praying for her son to return. After Han’s death, she almost gave up hope. But today, today——

Her son was going to come back.

Leia had mixed feelings. Yet when she finally caught sight on him, her feelings became less mixed.

Her son was holding a sleeping child.

“Ben! When did you become a father?”

 _Really?_ First Rey, then his own mother? It was not that he was hoping to have some grand reunion or anything, sharing feelings and getting emotional. After all, there were too many years, too many mistakes and tragedies between them. Sometimes certain things better be left unsaid. But this, this is——

Ben implied Rey to take over Luke from him and Rey got all flurried. She’d never held a child before. Plus, she had no memories to take reference from. Ben scented her uneasiness through their bond, so he pulled out his memory of that night in Tatooine when Luke cut himself. Rey grasped his intention quickly and changed her pose so that Luke was all firm and secure. This was the first time she ever held a child. It was lighter than she had anticipated.

Then Ben walked closer towards his mother.

He was taller than Leia now, much taller. Ben bent down a little and hugged her.

“Hello, mother.” Ben pulled away, there was a weary smile on his face, “The kid is——”

“NOT his son! Definitely NOT his son!” Spirit Luke appeared out of nowhere and cut him short with utter discomfiture.

_Okay. Again._

“Luke?” Leia’s eyes widened, “What——”

“Ahh!!! Ghost! Run——” Another voice shrieked.

“No, no no! He’s not a ghost! He won’t hurt you!” Rey had no idea when did little Luke wake up. The kid was now struggling to escape from her arms. She tried desperately not to drop him on the ground.

Well, taking a front seat in Skywalker Family Drama could indeed be a tiring work.

* * *

Spirit Luke sat there, watching his younger self poking his immaterial self.

And it was ... _weird_.

“Happy now?” Spirit Luke asked sullenly.

Little Luke tilted his head.

“Can you feel it? When I ... touched you?” Little Luke was curious.

“Only if I wanted to.”

“So ... if you choose not to, then you won’t feel a thing?”

“Correct.”

Little Luke put a chubby hand inside Spirit Luke’s chest and waved it like crazy.

“Nothing?”

“... Nothing.”

“Wow!” Little Luke’s eyes lit up. He thought for a while, then asked, “Can you go through the wall?”

“I can, why?”

“Really?! Show me! Please please please! Show me!”

On the far side of the room, Ben and Rey were trying to explaining the situation to Leia. Hearing little Luke’s excited voice, all three of them turned around, staring.

Spirit Luke was pretty sure if he were still in his physical form he would probably blush like the soil on Crait. Thank the Maker he was no longer capable of that.

“Alright. I’ll show you. Just, keep it down!”

Little Luke nodded frantically.

Oh, boy. Was he really that pestilential when he was little? In Luke’s own memory he might have talked a _bit_ too much, but everyone adored him anyway. Well, at least most of them. For instance, Aunt Beru never seemed annoyed, did she? Then it must be the age. That’s right. It must be it. He was no more than six at this point. Once he got older, he would certainly become less irksome.

Three adults in this room resumed their conversation.

“Will you stay?” Leia asked her son.

“For a while. You will need information about First Order. Once everything goes back on track, I’ll ... We’ll see.”

Leia nodded and turned to Rey.

“Of course I’ll stay!”

“Then I think it’s for the best that we say you _are_ Luke’s father, Ben.” Leia suggested, “This time travel thing, it’s a sensitive matter. We better keep him close. Since you would stay, people would ask questions. And I believe you won’t trust Luke with anyone else. You two should keep an eye on him.”

“Fine, I understand.” Ben sighed with relinquishment, then called, “Luke, come over here.”

Ben had always have this unknown realization that this little Luke was an entirely different person from his uncle. To him, this little kid was just an innocent boy who was related to him. That’s all. There were so many possibilities ahead of him. This boy had the opportunity to become someone else. Although the kid drove him crazy like _all the time_ , there were a few endearing moments worth remembering.

Little Luke was enthralled by Spirit Luke’s magical show of “moving things” when he heard his name. He glanced back above his shoulder, then turned back to the Spirit, and trotted away.

Spirit Luke glumly followed him.

“Something’s wrong?” Little Luke asked timidly.

“Nothing’s wrong, sweetheart.” Leia gave him a soothing smile. Although Luke was Leia’s twin, she didn’t get to know Luke until they were about twenty years old. Now seeing her brother as a five-year-old boy, it gave her a queer sense of satisfaction.

“It’s just, Ben here is going to take care of you. If people ask, you will say Ben is your father, okay?” Leia said affably.

 _“That’s——”_ Spirit Luke was gonna say that’s madness, or worse, that’s bullshit. But he held his tongue when he saw the look on Leia’s face. Surely this whole thing was intractable right now, so he might as well just let it be.

Little Luke was surprised, and it had nothing to do with the father thing. It was that no one had ever called him _sweetheart_ before. It was a little bit overwhelming.

“Are you?” Little Luke asked Ben doubtfully.

“Hey, you are the one who called _me_ father when you first saw me in Kef Bir, remember?”

“I thought I was dreaming.” Little Luke muttered, “And besides, you have dark eyes and dark hair. I don’t even look like you.”

Ben didn’t know whether he should be mad at Luke or himself. If he had any presentiment, any at all that _this_ was how things were going to turn out, he would never, ever erase Luke’s memory.

“Perhaps you take your mother’s look?” Ben said with his teeth gritted.

Luke frowned, then said, “Okay, that makes sense.”

Having seen Ben’s memory, Rey tried so hard to hide her amusement. She had to bite her inner cheek in case she burst out into laughter. Then she suddenly thought about something.

“Wait, should we—— should Luke keep his name? It would be confusing, isn’t it?”

“What’s wrong with my name?” Little Luke was baffled.

“You see. Here used to be another Luke Skywalker, you two have the exact same name, people would get confused.” Leia explained patiently.

_Great. First is calling his own nephew father, now they are gonna change his name? What a bunch of tyrants!_

“Luke is fine. It’s a common name.” Ben stepped in unexpected, “So long as you don’t mention Skywalker. Just say your name is Luke, no one would ask more questions.”

“Okay.” Luke had a look of understanding, “No problem, just Luke.”

Again, when it comes to names, Ben always made the _worst_ choice. If he knew when people found out, they would all acted like: _Aww, how nice of you to name your son after your uncle. You must really love him, don’t you?_ He would have made Luke change his stupid name no matter what.

_Love him? Get out of airlock!_

“Then it’s settled.” Leia announced with content, “Any questions?”

“I have one.” Little Luke raised his hand.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?”

“If _he_ is my dad.” Little Luke pointed to Ben, “Then ... _you_ are my grandma, right?”

Leia didn’t expect that. She looked around, everyone was waiting for her answer.

“Well ... I guess... right.” Leia replied with hesitation. There was no doubt that she was old enough to be a grandmother and she wouldn’t mind playing Granny to her _little_ brother. She did wish to spend some time with little Luke.

Spirit Luke was completely stunned by then. He should have left, really. There was no reason for him to stay here and witness all this nonsense. Yet he stayed, only the Maker knows why.

“Yay! I have a grandmother now!” Little Luke was genuinely gratified. All his life he had wanted a father. And today, just like that, he had a father and a grandmother. What a happy surprise! Also he was pretty confident that he would have a new mother soon. Well, she kissed daddy. So she must be his girlfriend or something, right? She _would_ be his new mother, he knew that. Then, then he would have a _family_. It would be perfect if aunt and uncle were here, too. Then again, one cannot be too greedy, so Luke decided this was the best day of his life so far nonetheless. _Family_ , it used to seem so far away. Now it was so close, almost within his reach.

Leia chuckled. Little Luke giggled, too. He rushed into Leia’s arms and tried to climb up her knees.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Ben walked over, lifted Luke up and put him on his own knees, “Grandma is no longer young. You are not to mess up with her, do you understand?”

Ben knew too well how much Leia had sacrificed just to reached out for him.

“Uh-huh.” Little Luke nodded and sat well-behaved on his new father’s lap.

Rey suddenly had the urge to kiss Ben. But it’s alright, it could wait. There was no need to hurry any more. Ben was back, he was right here. There would be a lot of kisses, and of course, a lot of _other things_.

Meanwhile, Leia was thinking that Ben had the potential to be a good father. She had seen the way in which Ben and Rey looked at each other, maybe one day she would have her own grandchildren.

Well, as for another audience who had watched all this, Spirit Luke was then seriously considering the feasibility of committing the suicide. He had already died once, could he be killed again?

“There will be a celebration tonight. We all need to cheer up a bit. You two, well, you three should take a shower.” Leia called an end to their private meeting, then she turned to her brother, “Why are you still here?”

“Why am I still here?” Spirit Luke was offended, “That’s _me_ you were talking about! I mean, of course I should be here.”

“Says the one who was always nagging me about _it’s time, you should let go_. Why don’t you let go for a while?” Leia taunted before she left the room.

Well, guess Ben Solo was not the only one who got back at by his own words today.

\---TBC---

  
or maybe not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wish I could write more about the *other things* that Rey was thinking. And my thanks to Luciefee who gave me the idea that Rey wanted to kiss Ben.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I wrote my first multi chapter fic I could only do 500 words each chapter. Now somehow I managed to come up with a 2500-word chapter full of trash within two days. 
> 
> Whatever, enjoy!

When Ben showed up at the celebration, which was in fact more like a low-profile party, everyone stopped to glare. Although Leia and Rey had both vouched for him, let’s be honest, people were still quite uneasy with him. Well, he took it. Even if they won’t execute him since did help to stop the Final Order and he still held pretty much all the top secrets of the First Order, that didn’t mean they would just accept him as one of their own as easy as falling off a log.

“Ben?” Rey whispered with concern.

“I guess I will see you later tonight.” Ben pressed a gentle kiss on Rey’s temple.

“Oh, Ben——” Rey started to feel sorry.

“Have fun with your friends. And, don’t let Luke eat too much puddings.” Ben added before he turned around and left.

A part of Rey wished she could just go off with him. It was killing her to see him act like this. But her friends were smiling at her right now. And—— Luke had already walked straight to the food bar.

Rey’s stomach grumbled. She was hungry, too.

* * *

For a moment Finn thought he was having delusions when he saw Rey standing there with a boy and _that man_ together.

It wasn’t until seconds later did he realize that his first thought should be like “ Why is the guy who almost cut me open in two was here to join the celebration?” or “Why is Rey being so intimate with her nemesis?”. Instead, his real first thought was “How is it possible that they find time to have a kid during the war?”. Because—— _Stars_ , they looked _too_ much like a family of three.

Then he got sobered up. Since obviously Rey was too young to have a child of that age. The kid was like five? Maybe four? He’s not sure. And the boy definitely did not look like Rey. Wait, so did that mean Ren—— well, Ben Solo cheated on her? Hold on—— Rey only knew him for two years, right? So that’s not cheating? But it still looked like it. Okay, stop right there. How come he had always assumed Rey and Solo were a couple? Didn’t they try to kill each other for the last two years? And that’s just a kiss on the temple. A kiss on the temple is nothing, right? Right?

And why did he care about whether the former Supreme Leader had cheated? No matter what they said, Solo was still a war criminal. And now this tough, strong, young girl are gonna be the stepmother of Solo’s evil son? Oh dear, it must be hard for her.

“Hello?” A voice pulled back his thoughts, “Could you please pass me some food on the counter? I’m not tall enough. Thank you.”

Uhh... When did Solo’s wicked offspring walk up to him? But the kid was being polite and he used “please” and “thank you”, so...

“Which ones do you want?”

“The one on the big plate, please.” Luke remembered aunt Beru had taught him about manners.

“Alright, there you go.”

“Thank you!” Luke took over the food and tasted it. It _blew_ his mind. He had never had anything so sweet and fresh before.

“Wow! This is really good!” Luke gasped in admiration, “Can I have more of those?”

“Yeah, sure. Of course.” Finn grabbed more and gave them to Luke.

* * *

“Hey! Look who’s here all alive and well!” Poe welcomed Rey with his usual upbeat, “Come here, girl! Bring it in!”

Rey smiled and received a firm hug, Rose joined in.

“Sorry, guys. I should’ve come to see you soon. Just, emm, got caught up by some other stuff.”

“I almost freaked out when Finn told me you went to face Palpatine all by yourself. What were you thinking? Thank the Stars you are all okay.” Rose hid her concern under the complaints.

“I wasn’t all alone down there. Ben came.”

“So he’s Ben now? Rey, what happened between you two? You two were—— you know.” Rose gave Rey a you-know-what-I’m-talking-about-and-spill-it-all-out nod.

“I... uhh... We...” Rey stammered. It was complicated and hard to explain to someone who wasn’t really _there_.

“Come on, Rose. Give her a break.” Poe came to the rescue, “If you’d come with us to Kijimi you would never ask that question. Man, the look he gave her, that was pretty much _intense_.”

“Dramatic.” Rose rolled her eyes, “Never mind. And what about the kid? He’s the father?”

“Yeah. Ben is the father.”

“Really? Where is the mother? That kid is at least five, I think. Seriously, I know _Ben_ looks like a normal man now but what kind of woman would be willing to sleep with him like, six years ago? Wasn’t he busy killing people back then? Wait, do you think he had forced himself on someone? Oh, so maybe that’s why the mother had disappeared? Or maybe he just killed——” Poe nudged Rose on the shoulder and Rose stopped to see the awkwardness on Rey’s face, “Kriff! Damn my wild imagination. I should never read all those holo novels. Forget I ever said that. Rey, I’m so sorry!”

“You should write your own novel some day, Rose. Really, I mean it. You could be famous!” Poe amused.

“Knock it off!” Rose elbowed him.

“It’s alright. Don’t be sorry, Rose.” Telling lies was easy, but keeping them required efforts. And Rey thought Rose’s suspicion did make some sense in a way based on the current situation. Even though she wanted to defend Ben, she didn’t know how, “Whatever happened in the past, is past. Let’s focus on the present, shall we? And no matter what happened, the kid is innocent.”

“Yeah, you’re right. The kid did nothing wrong.”

“And the novel thing? Maybe that’s a good idea. You should give it a try, Rose. You don’t know!” Rey was desperately hoping to change the subject.

“Okay, I’ll keep your suggestions in mind. But just so you know, if he didn’t treat you well, we all get your back, okay? Me, Poe and Finn, we are all on your side. I don’t care whether he’s Leia’s son.” Rose sounded utterly serious.

Poe nodded in agreement. Rey suddenly felt the warmth in her chest. That’s the point of having friends, isn’t that? She was so lucky to have them.

“Speaking of Finn, where is he? He came here with us but I haven’t seen him for a while.” Poe looked around and Rey followed his sight. Then she found Finn. He was standing by the food bar, and Luke was with him. Luke was gorging down something Finn had given to him. Oh no, _the puddings_. Ben seemed to said something about Luke shouldn’t eat too much puddings.

* * *

“Luke, Luke! Put them down!”

“Wut?” Luke raised his head with his mouth full.

“He named his son Luke? Guess he still has some conscience.” Rose turned to Poe, Poe reckoned with a humph.

“Stop eating that pudding! Ben said you are not supposed to eat too much puddings.” Rey said in a hurry and walked towards Luke, “Oh. Hi, Finn.”

“But why?” Luke swallowed his mouthful of puddings and objected.

“I don’t know. Ben didn’t say why. But he must have his reasons. So just listen to him and don’t eat more of those, okay?”

Luke let go of his puddings like someone who hadn’t had any water for three days were now told he had to give up the drink right in front of him.

“Relax. It’s just some puddings. No big deal.” Finn said.

“And very _good_ puddings.” Luke added with sincerity, “Have you tried this before?”

“No.” Back on Jakku, Rey struggled to barely keep herself from being starved to death. After she joined the Resistance, she ate more quota than proper dinner, let alone such desserts. Well except when she was on Ahch-To. Till this day when she thought about that island, the first thing she remembered was the smell of roasted prog. And it tasted like _heaven_ —— if it really existed such a place.

“Try it then!” Finn handed her one, so she ate it.

Okay, maybe it’s still too early to say roasted prog tasted like _heaven_. Because _this_ was so much better! It was so smooth and creamy, and it just melt in the mouth.

Luke saw the fascinated expression on Rey’s face and he knew immediately that Rey could be bought.

“It’s good, right?” Luke asked expectantly.

“Good? It’s amazing! I don’t know why Ben said that!”

“So can I have some more?”

Rey hesitated. Taking the tasty puddings away from a kid was _criminal_. But Ben did give the warning.

“Did you feel any uncomfortable? Your stomach?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then I guess it’s fine? Only one more, okay?”

Luke nodded.

What Rey didn’t know is that, while she was talking with Finn, and later Poe and Rose joined them, one more became two more, and two more gradually became five more.

* * *

Rey found Ben back on the Falcon after she tucked Luke in.

“You alright tonight?”

“I’m fine. Come here.” Ben pulled Rey close and kissed her on the mouth.

Rey parted her lips and deepened the kiss. She broke away when she felt Ben’s hard was pressing against her abdomen.

“Ben.” She panted a little, “We can’t.”

“Hmm? You don’t want it?” Ben was now pressing lazy kisses along her neckline.

“Luke was sleeping next door, and—— Oh.” Ben bit on the sensitive spot where her neck meets the shoulder, “ And Chewie is somewhere—— on the Falcon.”

“So? This is a large ship. Just keep it quiet.” Ben murmured against her skin.

She highly doubted she could _keep it quiet_. And her self restraint was breaking apart. Because Ben had somehow sneaked a hand inside her shirt, found her left breast and gave it a gentle squeeze.

_Bastard._

“Ben, Ben——” Rey put her hands on his chest and intended to push him away. Yet for some reason, feeling the solid muscle beneath her touch, she seized his collar and drew him closer.

_Oh, fuck it. She should have seen this coming. She’d wanted it anyway, why bother?_

“Alright, we——”

There was a knock on the door, “Dad?”

Rey pushed Ben away as quickly as possible. Ben grunted with discontent and walked to open the door. Rey grabbed his arm and stopped him.

Ben raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not that!” Rey slapped him on the bicep. She straightened the lower hem of his top to cover his arousal, then said, “Go open the door.”

Ben’s blush didn’t escape her eyes.

“What is it?” Ben asked Luke.

“My tummy hurts.” Luke looked like he was about to cry.

“How?” Ben knelt down and put a hand on Luke’s forehead to see whether he was having a fever. There was none, which was good.

“I think it’s something I ate.” Luke replied in a small voice.

“He ate the puddings?” Ben asked Rey.

“You said don’t let him eat _too much_ , so I said one more. What’s wrong with the puddings?” Rey didn’t understand.

“It’s hard to digest, especially for a kid of his age. So I said _not too much_.” Ben turned back to Luke, “How many did you eat after Rey said _one more_?”

“Th... three?” Luke then changed his answer to five when he saw Ben’s stern face.

Ben sighed, “Well, I’ll take you to the medical centre, see what the doctor would say.”

“Can’t you just make it all go away? Just like what you did with my ankle?” Luke said hopefully.

“I can, but I won’t. This is supposed to teach you a lesson, so no.”

The corners of Luke’s mouth dropped, but he accept his own fault like a reasonable child and didn’t make a scene of it. Instead Luke asked, “Can you carry me there? My tummy really hurts.”

“Of course.” Ben hoisted Luke up and headed for the medical centre.

“Wait, I’ll go with you.” Rey snatched a coat and followed them.

* * *

Just like Ben said, it was indigestion. The doctor gave Luke something to drink. It didn’t take away the pain straightaway like the Force did, but Luke felt much better.

“Does it still hurt?” Ben asked after the doctor had left.

“Not really, only a little bit uncomfortable.”

“You will feel as good as new in the morning. It’s nothing serious.” Rey comforted him, “The doctor said you can stay here for the night if you want. There will be nurses to look after you.”

“I don’t wanna sleep here alone.” Luke said.

“I can stay the night with you.” Ben suggested.

“No. I just wanna lie down here for a little while, then we all go back, is that okay?”

“Sure, now have some rest.”

Luke nodded and lied down on the bed.

“What a touching father-son moment——” An uninvited voice cracked from the far corner of the room. There was a bed screened by the curtains on the corner. No one had paid it much attention. The curtains were drawn up now, revealing the patient behind them.

“All these years, _Supreme Leader_. Or should I say _Mr. Solo_ now? How come I never knew you had a son?” The voice was rather hoarse.

“What the—— Hux?” Rey stood up and put up her fighting stance in instinct.

_What is Armitage Hux doing here in the Resistance base?_

\---TBC---

or maybe not  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up everybody! The most unfortunate employee in the whole galaxy is back on line!
> 
> And thank you so much for staying with me till the end notes!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Type type type. Here comes the update!
> 
> I'm not sure how long this fic would go. Seven chapters, maybe? I'll extend it when necessary.

Ben switched his full attention on Rey in no time, ready to interfere in case she went too impulsive.

“Chill out, Jedi. I’m tied down here.” Hux lifted his hand, his wrist was connected to the bedside with a handcuff. Hux must have been badly injured, for he winced and sucked in a breath under such a simple movement.

Rey eased down for a bit. Ben let out a soft sigh of relief. He honestly didn’t think he could get hold of Rey if she did lose control.

“Really, you should be thanking me right now.” Hux continued, “If it weren’t for me, you would never get to see your _hairy friend_ again.”

Rey processed his words for a couple of seconds, then it suddenly hit her, “ _You_ are the _spy_?”

 _Wait. What?_ Ben was no less surprised then Rey was. He had known there was a spy in the First Order. And Pryde seemed to blahed about he had found the spy. Well, Ben—— Kylo Ren’s mind was occupied by something, _someone_ else back then, so he had paid the spy thing no mind.

“I thought Pryde killed you.” Ben scowled.

“ _That old dog._ ” Hux spat, and his face got all scrunched up right off. Maybe getting tied down was in favor of his recovery.

“He didn’t. But look at me, I was barely _alive_. Long story short, the Resistance accepted my surrender, and here I am.”

“They put you under the undercover protection?”

“Yes. But I won’t be free until I received a trial. _Hypocrite_.” Hux muttered his last word in disgust.

“You should be grateful you are still breathing, _criminal_!” Rey hissed.

“Easy for you to say, Scavenger. You called _me_ criminal, what about your beloved _Kylo Ren_? Huh? What about him?” Hux scoffed.

“You——” Rey tensed up again and looked as though she was about to rush over and punch Hux in the face.

“Rey.” Ben stepped foroward and put a hand on the small of Rey’s back, moving along her spine. Rey relaxed under his touch. “You know Hux is telling the truth”

“But that was _not you_!” Rey turned around to look at Ben in the eyes, “That was——”

“ _That was me._ ” Ben said gravely, slowly stressing each syllable.

“What was you?” Luke got all confused. He had already sat up, looking intently at Ben.

In fact, Luke felt quite insecure. He had only been here for less than a standard day, while Ben being the closest one he got. And so far Rey was with him almost the whole time. He had also been introduced to Grandma Leia, a weird but friendly ghost, and some of Rey’s friends. Everyone was nice to him and he liked them, too. It made him felt like he was a part of this new world, new life. Moreover, he had enjoyed it, except for the part when the extra puddings gave him a hard time. But Rey said he was going to be fine, right? However the stranger somehow made him realize both Ben and Rey had an entire life in the past which _he_ had taken no part in and they didn’t plan to involve him in the future. Because when they were talking to that strange man in the corner, none of them cared to spare a glimpse at him, as if they were discussing something which he had absolutely nothing to do with, which was in all likelihood, the truth. But still, the realization of being ignored made him uneasy. He didn’t want to be left out, he had decided to be a part of it, and if they wouldn’t save a part for him, he would find it himself.

 _Murderer, psychopath, asshole._ Hux wanted to shout these accusations at whoever Ren now claiming he was. He had put his life in danger, yearning to see Ren crash and burn. After the Resistance found him, he had thought Kylo Ren was dead with the Final Order. Then he heard people gossiping how the Supreme Leader of the First Order changed sides at the last minute, killed Palpatine and brought down the Final Order together with that Jedi girl. It made him realize that all this time, he had risked his life for _nothing_. Nothing! Since apparently his ex-boss was someone who thinks with his penis. How he craved for another revenge. Maybe he could start with ruining Ren’s perfect _fake_ father impression—— Hux was 200% sure that there was no way Ren was the boy’s real father. Regardless, he didn’t give a crap about who the boy really was, he just wanted to discompose Ren.

Yet Hux said none of those, as a matter of fact he said nothing. He was waiting for Ren to answer the question himself. Probably in this way it would hurt him more, also Hux wanted to know what would fancy Mr. Solo say about his past.

Ben hesitated. The thing was, if he told Luke the harsh truth, it would no doubt scare the kid. But he had no intention to lie as well. He was so tired of lying, to others and especially to himself.

“I haven’t always been a very good man, Luke.” Ben said after careful deliberation, “I’ve made mistakes.”

_Not a very good man? Making mistakes? You have underestimated yourself too much, Supreme Leader._

“We all made mistakes, don’t we?” Luke’s eyes moved from Ben to Rey, then to the stranger in the corner before moving back to Ben.

“Yes. But some mistakes are _worse_ than the others. Not every mistake is eating too much puddings.” Ben gave Luke a sad smile.

Hux appeared he needed to say something, only to held his tongue.

“Did you learn your lessons?” Luke asked.

“What?”

“ _Learn your lessons._ ” Luke repeated it, “When I asked you if you can make my tummy pain go away, you said you won’t because you want to teach _me_ a lesson. So did you learn _yours_?”

Ben had been afraid that Luke would ask him what kind of _worse mistakes_ he had made, then he had to tell him all those horrible things he had done. He’d never thought that Luke would mention _lessons_.

“I did, though not without cost.” Ben answered truthfully.

“Uncle Owen once said one can... can fix his mistakes by doing good stuff. Can’t you do that?” Luke tilted his head.

 _Making amends of one’s fault by doing good deeds._ Ben had heard the saying, but he doubted there would be enough good deeds in the whole galaxy to amend _his fault_.

“I’ll try.” Ben replied, “I promise.”

“And I’ll help you.” Rey said to Ben, then she turned to Luke as if she wanted to make a statement, “I’ll help him.”

Luke nodded. Ben took Rey gently in his arms, leant over her face, and softly kissed her forehead.

“Thank you.” Ben murmured wistfully.

 _O——Kay_. So this was _zero_ percent what Hux was expecting to see. Shouldn’t the question sabotage Ren’s good father image completely? Shouldn’t it be like the boy finally realizing that his father was a monster, and screaming he was deceived while accusing Ren for being a big fat liar? How come things turned out to be like _this_ , which Solo became the prodigal son who turned over a new leaf? And where the _hell_ did that hug and kiss come from? Hearing others gossiping about them was one thing, but witnessing it with his own eyes? Dude, she almost killed you _twice_! And now you are showering her with hugs and kisses? Don’t you think it’s all too _twisted_?

So that’s enough. No more revenge. Hux made a decision that he’d better stay as far away from these freaks as possible.

Unfortunately for Hux, he had to be stuck with them for a while. In a couple of days on his own trial, Ben Solo came to stand as a witness to testify that he had indeed betrayed the First Order. But before that, he had to deal with his only-the-Maker-knows-where-did-he-get-him son first.

\---TBC---

or maybe not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fear I might spend too much time on Hux. But geez, Hux is like the best tool!man in the Galaxy! His presence could help develop the plot, mold other characters, intensify the emotions, etc. 
> 
> And don't forget to leave your feedbacks! They are really important to me!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all had a happy Force Day! 
> 
> <3

Luke was rather disappointed when Ben told him they cannot spend the day together.

“That’s not fair!” Luke complained, “How come you get to be with your mother during the day but I’m not allowed to be with my father!”

Ben laughed in spite of himself. “Because I ain’t going to have fun with grandma, we have work to do with other Generals, okay?”

Luke pouted.

“Then where is that ghost? You know where I can find him?”

“The thing with the ... ghost, Luke. They don’t appear whenever you want. They are not like the genies who lived in magical lamps.” Ben replied.

“Alright, I get that.” Luke’s shoulders slumped.

Rey gave Ben a queer look, she asked through their Force bond.

_What genie in the lamp?_

_Some children’s tale of Naboo._

_How did Luke get to know that?_

_I can’t discuss strategic deployment with him when he sneaked into my room in the middle of night, right?_

_Right._

_Wanna hear the story, too?_

_Sure. Why not?_

_Guess you will have to sneak into my bed tonight first._

Rey shut him out and turned to Luke.

“How about this.” Rey suggested, “I’ll bring you to my work today, sweetheart. They need my help with those damaged ships. And Rose would be there, too. Don’t you like Aunt Rose? I can show you how to recognize all the wrenches. Therefore if one day your own ship breaks down you would know how to fix it.”

Luke lost her after _sweetheart_ , but he nodded anyway. No matter what Rey was going to do, it must be better than being left alone.

* * *

It turned out going to work with Rey was better than he had imagined.

Rey taught him the functions of different types of wrenches as she promised and even showed him how to rewire the calcinator. Luke tried it once and some unknown technician called him _a natural_ and gave him an extra screw cap to play with. By the time of lunch break Luke had at least received a dozen of different tiny parts which he couldn’t put name on. These broken cabins were filled with laughter all morning. Although it was hot and humid bellow deck, Luke was still pretty excited on the whole.

He felt a bit drowsy after lunch. Rey asked whether he needed to take a nap and Luke said yes. So Rey took him back to the Falcon.

“Can I still go find you after I wake up?” Luke asked.

“Of course.” Rey smiled, “Do you remember the way?”

Luke nodded.

“If you don’t, just ask someone where the Repairs is. And if you change your mind, I think Ben had found you some books to read.”

Rey messed Luke’s hair a little bit before she went back to work.

* * *

Luke was having another dream. He dreamed that Ben was leaving, he hugged Ben’s leg like a tree, called him father and begged him to stay. Ben said he is NOT his father and told him to let go.

He woke up with a start. Luke sat on the bunk for some time. It was still early in the afternoon. The dream upset him dearly. Luke thought about it for a while, then he decided to fulfill his own promise about taking an active part in Ben and Rey’s life.

It could start with the strange man in the hospital. What’s his name again? Is it Hooks? Or Huggies? Luke didn’t recall. It didn’t matter, he would ask him today.

Luke found his way to the medical centre. It was quiet there. Yesterday the doctor said all the minor wounded had been checked out and others were transferred to another quarter, waiting for prosthesis. In the corner of the far side, a bed was well hidden behind full-length drapes.

Luke sneaked close and slowly pulled back the curtains.

* * *

The medication kept him awake all night. Hux was trying to get some sleep when he heard someone approaching.

“Who is it?” His voice was still hoarse.

The drapes opened, Hux turned his head, but Luke was barely as tall as the bed, from this angle Hux could only see a head full of straw yellow hair.

“Hello. We met last night.” Luke answered.

What? Ren’s fake son? Was he dreaming this? Those drugs could induce visions, no?

Hux tried to lever himself up on his elbow, only to gave up for the blinding pain.

“Oh, hang on.” Luke calculated the possibility of him climbing up on the bed without bumping into the patient, then he disappeared. A few moments later Luke came back with a chair. The chair was heavy and even taller than he was. Luke stumbled twice moving the chair. Hux couldn’t see, but he heard the boy yelped.

Finally Luke climb up the chair, Hux got to see his timid smile.

“What do you want, kid?” Hux asked sourly.

“Did you feel any better?” Luke tried to be nice.

“Why do you care?” Hux retorted.

“I thought you knew my dad, so——”

“You do realize that he is NOT your real father, don’t you?” Hux interrupted Luke with malice on purpose.

Luke went silent and lowered his head.

 _So the boy knows._ He should taste victory, triumph, glory for tearing down the boy’s illusion. But he didn’t. Instead he felt a pang of guilt when he noticed Luke was trying to stifle the sound of his crying and started to wipe his eyes with the back of his hand.

Hux didn’t know what to do.

“I do.” Luke replied in a small voice without looking up, “My mother died giving birth to me. And I have never seen my real dad before. But since I came here, Mr. Solo has always been good to me, and I really like him. I _want_ him to be my dad.”

Luke’s confession brought up all those buried memories of Armitage Hux.

Growing up as the bastard son of Commandant Brendol Hux. Armitage Hux had no memories of a happy childhood. Sometimes he thought maybe all of this was a cruel joke, that his father was just some random guy instead of a commandant of higher rank. Even though he had known Ren wasn’t the boy’s father, there was no denying that he was mad with envy when he saw Ren’s visceral concern for the boy.

The boy was not even Ren’s, but _he_ was Brendol Hux’s true blood relation. Yet all he had was ceaseless abuse. He should be a better man than his father, shouldn’t he? Wasn’t that he was striving to achieve all the time? To prove he could outmatch his father?

“Uhh... oh, okay.” Hux faltered, “You said you thought I knew your dad?”

“Yeah.” Luke raised up his head, his eyes were still red from tears, “Did you?”

“I did. I ... used to work with him.”

“And what about Rey? Did you know her, too?”

“Not much. I only .. saw her with your dad like ... once or twice.” _Saw her attempting to murder your dad, to be precise._

“Okay.” Luke nodded, “So what was my dad like? He said he wasn’t always a good man. How exactly?”

“He——” What should he say? Hux was stumped. Surely he couldn’t tell the boy that his _perfect_ father was once a lunatic killer, that would be too merciless.

_Since when did he have [mercy] in his dictionary?_

Luke was waiting for his answer with great interest.

“He ... he was ill-tempered and ... lack of patience.”

“That does sound like him.” Luke nodded, “Anything else?”

“Overconfident, bullheaded—— Never listen to anybody else’s opinion.”

“He listens to Rey now, and he listens to me sometimes.” Luke was glad Ben has changed a lot, which made him like Ben more.

“That’s ... good for him.” Hux managed.

Luke smiled, this time the smile was more genuine.

“Okay, nice talking to you. I hope you’ll get well soon.” Luke cheered up.

“Th... thank you.”

Luke climbed down the chair and stared at it.

“Should I move it away?” Luke asked.

“There’s no need, just leave it.”

“Sure. Bye!”

Hux nodded, then he realized Luke couldn’t see him nodding without the chair. But Luke had already run away.

All of sudden, the room was too quiet.

And it wasn’t until Luke went to find Rey in the Repairs did he realized he had forgotten to ask the stranger’s name.

* * *

“So, did you have a good day?” Ben asked Luke over supper. Leia had invited him to have dinner with her and some other officers. He turned it down and said he’d rather have supper with Rey and Luke, so Leia didn’t pursue it.

“I did!” Luke was surprised that Ben would ask about his day just like Aunt Beru did. So he bubbled on and on about his novel experience in the Repairs.

“You were with Rey all day?” Somehow Ben felt a bit left out.

“Not _all day_. I also went to the med centre.”

“Your stomach hurts again?” Ben got anxious, “It should be alright by today.”

“It’s not about my stomach. I went to see Huggies.”

Ben wasn’t too surprised. He had the faintest idea why Luke would wanted to visit Hux. He was a bit nervous that Hux might have said something inappropriate. But Luke seemed undisturbed, which relieved him greatly. In spite of this, he cast a questioning look at Rey, and Rey replied with a nod of reassurance.

“It’s nice of you to be considerate.” Ben declared in approval. Then again, one couldn’t be too careful, “But next time if you wanted to visit him, make sure Rey or I go with you, okay?”

“Okay.” Luke nodded, then he went back to attack his meal.

Rey exchanged another look with Ben.

_Shouldn’t we tell Luke his name is Hux instead of Huggies?_

_Yes. But I want to see his face when Luke called him that._

_Fair point. Couldn’t miss that._ Rey agreed.

\---TBC---

or maybe not

 **Notes:** I also have a beta version for this chapter which involves Poe Dameron/Armitage Hux. If you have any interest, you can check with part 3 of this series or click here [ Hux's mysterious visitor.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24011647) If not, just stay with this version. Both versions go with the main plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two versions in one day. I'm on fire! Hahahaha, just kidding. Hope you like this chaper, no matter which version you prefer.
> 
> One more thing, I made some edit in Chapter 2, I changed "blush like beetroot" to "blush like the soil on Crait". Thought it would be more Star Wars-ish.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out to be much longer than I expected. So I break it in two. This is the first half. I'm still doing the proof-reading and editing work for the latter half. I will post the next part as soon as I finish it.  
> 
> 
> **Edit:** You guys know how writing works, right? So basically I'm rewriting Chapter 7, there maybe a side story coming with it, I'm not sure. We will see.

Rey commenced receiving field assignment as soon as her work in the Repairs were mostly done. She had asked Rose, Poe, Finn and Chewbacca to take care of Luke in turns. Occasionally Leia would assigned C-3PO to do the job, but 3PO had more blab than Luke himself, and evidently little Luke wasn’t so crazy about it.

At first, Rey wondered whether Luke could get along with Chewie. To be fair, Chewie was a Wookie of eight feet two who spoke an entirely different tongue. Then it appeared that Luke had a gift in understanding Wookie language. Or rather, their communication went beyond verbal. Luke simply enjoyed the company of his big furry friend. And Chewie had spoiled Luke way too much. Rey had at least told Chewie five times that he needn’t carry Luke on his shoulders everywhere and let Luke yank his fur. Yet Chewie didn’t mind that at all.

Needless to say, none of Luke’s new friendships had escaped Ben’s knowledge. He had heard Luke talking nonstop about his Aunt Rose, Uncle Poe, Fluffy Chewie and everything during their dinner routine.

It’s not that Ben disapprove of Luke getting acquainted with Rey’s friends. It’s just, since he accepted Leia’s advice of pretending to be Luke’s father, he thought he might as well do it right. He really should spend more time with Luke. But what held him back were galactic war and politics, which he should indeed take most of the blame for it. Luke’s words about amending one’s faults with good deeds reappeared in his head all the time. To tell the truth, it stressed him out. He was never good at neither war nor politics anyway. Now he didn’t even have the time to play his fake role of a father.

Ben’s dilemma soon upgraded into annoyance when Spirit Luke decided to appear around dinner time uninvited.

_Really, it never occurred to Master Yoda that he should teach Luke the importance of timing?_

Ben would ask Spirit Luke to leave _nicely_ without question if little Luke didn’t get all thrilled.

“Where have you been all these days!” Little Luke asked earnestly.

“Well, got tied up elsewhere.”

Ben rolled his eyes. Little Luke didn’t notice. Rey give Ben a good kick on his shin under the table, he grimaced.

“There are _so_ many things I wanted to tell you!”

“Really?” Spirit Luke didn’t expect his younger self had recognized himself as a part of his mundane life.

“Of course!” Little Luke cried out.

Then he started to yap all about his new friends all over again. Ben had the impulse to deafen himself with the Force. However, even if he did choose not to listen, he could still see that foolish smirk on the Spirit’s face that plainly states: _Oh, guess Ben is not a popular farther after all._

Same as usual, Luke got carried away with his gripping new life. Even the food getting cold didn't stop him from sharing. Ben was going to remind little Luke about his plate, but Rey shushed him.

_Just let him this once._

_Fine._

Luke interrupted himself at last.

“Right, you should see the parts I got when I went with Rey in the Repairs. They are in my room. Just wait here, I will fetch them and show——” Luke scurried away without finishing his own sentence.

Spirit Luke raised an eyebrow with obvious provocation.

“What?!” Ben said impatiently.

“It must be hard for you, being ignored like this, _Father_.” The spirit teased.

“You should see him when I was in _his_ world!” Ben snapped.

“Ouch!” Spirit Luke feigned a hurtful look, “I wasn't there. What a pity!”

“Bugger off!” Ben muttered.

It wasn't long before Luke's obsession with the ghost got distracted by something else.

* * *

“Luke, Luke! Look what I've found!”

One afternoon, Rey came back with a cage.

Luke went closer. He couldn't tell the animal’s exact form. But he could hear the restless cries of a feline, and see a pair of piercing green eyes with a flicker of gold.

“Is it—— a cat?”

Rey nodded. “I went with the search team today, in case there are still survivors out there. The cat was barely breathing when I found it under the wreckage. They were going to put it down. But I thought you might want it. So I kind of saved it.”

“Wow.” Luke yelled with curious eyes, “Can I see it?”

“There.” Rey opened the cage.

The animal hesitated at first, eyes blinking, assessing the unfamiliar environment. Then it ambled out of the cage. Luke's gaze stayed on the animal.

It was in a _mess_. Although two exuberant olive eyes showed it was now in a lively state, its fur was all tangled and covered with dirt and dried blood. The animal glanced back at Rey, then peered back up at Luke with an inscrutable stare, as if it was estimating whether this youngling could pose a threat. After a few movements, the animal seemed to decide that Luke was not yet a concern. So it sat down on its back legs and gave its fur lazy licks in an attempt to clean it from the muss.

Luke squatted down, reached out a hand, meaning to pet it. Then he thought better of it. Luke looked up and asked Rey, “I can keep it?”

“I guess.” Rey assumed, “I didn't see any collar. And it's just a cat. Having a cat won’t break any law, I mean.”

Luke's face split into a wide smile.

“Then let's give it a bath!”

* * *

Neither of these two had any experience of bathing animals. But they figured out the proper water temperature and the appropriate way of doing it step by step after quite a few scratches and hissing.

When all was done, Rey and Luke rinsed the animal clean one last time, revealing its thick ginger fur with lighter stripes. The animal jumped out of the sink, landed on the floor, shook itself off water, spraying drops everywhere.

Luke giggled merrily, trying to avoid the drops. Rey grabbed a towel, wrapped it around the cat, dried its fur along with its tail.

“I sneaked back to bring you the cat.” Ray stood up and straightened her clothes, “Now I gotta go back to attend the brief. I believe you two would get along?”

Luke replied with his open, honest face.

He found some food for the cat, then made a teaser with strings and rags. However, the animal showed no interest in it. After tidying its fur, it paced around the room before jumping on the top of a shelf, curled itself into a ball against the wall. Other than its indifference to the toy, the cat made no response to Luke's _kitty_ , _kitten_ or meaningless _meows_ and _mews_. In the end, Luke gave up the hope of attracting the cat’s attention and just sat there with frustration, fixing his eyes upon its tail swinging back and forth like a pendulum.

Bit by bit, Luke began to doze off. After at least a quarter, Luke woke up to a loud thud on the floor. The cat had jumped off the shelf and paced towards the hallway.

“Kitty? What is it?” Luke stood up, following the cat.

All of a sudden, the cat bristled up, humped its back while lowering its ears, and hissed.

Then Ben stepped in.

“Whoa, whoa. Easy.” Ben was stunned for a moment, “Wait, Millicent?”

“Millicent?” _The cat already had a name? And Ben knew it?_ Luke had no idea, “I was hoping to name it Pomelo.”

“It's Hux’s cat. Where did you find it?” Ben asked in surprise.

_Oh no, this was even worse. It also had already got an owner. Now he can't keep it for sure._

“Rey found it.” Luke said with his head low.

Speaking of the devil——

“Luke, did you have a good time with the cat?”

Hearing Rey’s voice, Millicent’s ears stood up. It leaped forward, landed in front of Rey, stopping her from getting any close. Then it turned around, narrowed its eyes at Ben, bared its fangs and screeched.

Rey was confounded.

“What's wrong with the cat?”

“Well, apparently she thought I'm gonna hurt you or something.” Ben answered with a shrug. He turned to face the cat, “Look at you, getting all protective, you feral little thing.”

“What?”

“Alright. Allow me to introduce her.” Ben sighed, “Meet Millicent, Hux’s precious pet.”

Rey’s eyes widened with disbelief. Meanwhile Millicent’s eyes went as round as they could be. The animal lowered its back, getting ready to attack.

Ben took a few steps back, keeping the distance.

“Millicent.” Rey tried to call it in a calming tone.

Its ears twitched. Rey crouched to pick it up lest it pounced upon Ben. She was expecting to meet some resistance. But the cat just went limp in her arms, its legs passively hanging.

“You might wanna hold its back legs.” Ben suggested.

“Like this?” Rey looped one arm under it.

“Yes. The cat is more comfortable being held that way.” Ben explained.

He was right. Once the cat felt safe in her arms, it started to sniffed her neck and face, leaving wet but tender sensations whenever its snout touched her skin.

“How did you——” Rey was confused, “And where did all its hostility come from?”

Then she realized something.

“Please tell me you didn't hurt the animal.”

“I ain't proud of all my old decisions, okay? She just, kind of leave me no choice.”

“How? It's just a cat! What possibly could it do?”

“Trust me, that cat had even more access on the _Finalizer_ then Hux himself, including my own quarters! But of all the places she had to roll about in my _damn_ closet.”

“So?”

“So? Remember how I used to wear black?”

Rey darted him an irritable look.

“And _that_ is a ginger cat! Basically all my clothes were covered with yellow cat hair! I would never hear the end of it from Hux if I didn't do _something_!”

Rey held back a laughter.

Luke heard none of Rey and Ben’s conversation. His mind was filled with one single thought: _this was someone else’s cat._

“Can I still keep it?” Luke broke in.

Rey almost forgot Luke was still here. Now she saw disappointment and reluctance were written all over Luke’s face.

“I’m afraid not, sweetheart.” Rey said ruefully.

This time, even _sweetheart_ failed to make Luke feel any better.

“You saved it, didn’t you?”

“I did. But that doesn’t mean it’s mine now. It’s still Hux’s cat. Don’t you think the cat should be returned to its owner?”

Luke didn’t say anything, he nodded slightly.

Rey knew it must be hard for Luke to give it up. When she was little, she’d be killed to have a pet to keep herself company. Yet she knew too well that he could never find enough food to keep both of them alive. Pet was such an extravagance for her back then. Now Luke was probably the only child around the Resistance base. Though everyone adored him, surely Luke would still crave for a friend more of his own age—— or at least, sort of.

“Maybe we can keep it for a couple of more days?” Rey tried to sound hopeful, “Well, I’m pretty sure Hux is still in bed. It’s better that we take care of it anyway.”

“No. You were right. We should give it back.” Luke dragged a long face.

“Hux will own you a big one, Luke.” Ben attempted to lighten up his mood, yet Luke made no response. Rey gave Ben a stern look.

“Can I at least say goodbye to it?”

“Actually, let’s go to the med centre together, shall we? Ben?” Rey turned to Ben.

“I think I’ll pass. That cat _hates_ me. I’ll see you at dinner.” Ben retreated.

Luke didn’t move.

“Luke? I thought you wanted to say goodbye?”

“I just wanted it to have this.” Luke pulled out the cat teaser he made from his pocket, “Can you give this to Huggies?”

“Of course.” Rey took over the teaser with great care, “I’ll _make sure_ Hux has it.”

  
\---TBC---

still maybe not

**Notes:** I've always wanted a pet plot, but the cat part was inspired by this fic [The Supreme Leader’s Guide to the Galaxy: How to Build an Empire, Destroy an Empire, and Still Get the Girl](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23220730) written by [Ever_So_Reylo/ Ever-so-reylo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ever_So_Reylo/pseuds/Ever-so-reylo). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pomelo means grapefruit. It's the name of my beta reader's cat.
> 
> And I feel like I could really use some feedbacks here. I kinda feel a bit lost.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys! I’M BACK! Here is the brand new Chapter 7!

Rey came back to a cloudy Ben.

“Where is Luke?”

“In his chamber.” Ben sighed, “He’s pretty upset. He asked me whether he could have a cat of his own.”

“And? What did you say?”

“I said no. And I believe Luke was mad at me right now.”

“Why did you say that? A cat won’t hurt.”

“It’s not about the cat. He can have a wampa for pet if that’s what he likes. I said no because I don’t think he should take it back with him when he leaves. This is NOT his world, or timeline. He’s been here for too long.” Ben stopped, he took a deep breath and uttered another sigh, “He has to go back, eventually. None of us have any reasons to keep him here. We still don’t know whether this is time travel or some crazy parallel world, Rey. I don’t wanna take any risk. So it’s better I refuse him _now_ than I take it away from him _then_.”

“I see.” Rey considered Ben’s words for a while, “I never thought about that much. I just thought Luke must be lonely here with us. We all have work to do and Luke has no playmates.”

“You were right. By the way, the settlement runs smooth these days, General Organa had already agreed that members on the crew could bring their family here if they want. We have received a dozen of applications, there will be kids here soon enough.”

“Good to know that. Did you tell Luke?”

“I never get my chance to bring it up. Just, could you please talk some sense into him? He kind of stormed away and locked himself up before I could explain.” Ben said in dismay.

“Alright, I’ll try. And you’re coming with me. I’m not gonna do it on my own.” Rey insisted.

* * *

“Luke. It’s Rey. May I come in?”

No one answered her.

“Luke?”

The door hissed opened, Luke stood there, looking up at Rey, and Ben behind her.

“I don’t wanna talk to _him_.” Luke huffed.

“Ben comes with me. I have good news for you, don’t you wanna hear it?”

“Does that mean I can have my pet?” Luke asked expectantly.

“We will discuss about that later. Why don’t you let us in first?”

Luke stepped aside, Ben occupied a chair. Rey took a look around Luke’s room and found herself a place on the side of Luke’s bunk, Luke sat next to her meekly.

“Hux accepted your cat teaser, and he said you can hang out with Millicent whenever you want.” Rey announced her good news.

“He did?” Luke was overjoyed, he didn’t expect he could get to see Millicent again. Meanwhile Ben looked like Rey had just declared Hux agreed to take a dancing gig in some notorious night-celler.

 _Hux said what?_ Ben asked through their Force bond. _Last time I checked he didn’t have brain damage, did he?_

_I threatened him._

_Oh, Rey. Just when I thought I couldn’t love you more——_

_Not now! I’ll fill you in later._

“Yes, why wouldn’t he? You are such a _delight_.” Rey smiled down at Luke.

Luke _beamed_ , then his face dropped. “But it's different. I still want _my_ kitten.”

“Luke, don’t be so stubborn.” Ben chipped in.

Luke puffed. “I know you don’t like Huggies, but you can’t honestly stop me from having a cat just because Huggies also has one!”

“I didn’t say no because of that!” Ben objected, “But Hux and I do have our disagreements, that part was pretty much true. And besides, where can I even get you a cat at the moment?”

“Maybe we can ask Huggies where did he get his?” Luke suggested tentatively.

“I don’t think so.” Ben hesitated, “Anyway, you are going to have some little buddies soon. We are doing great these days and some of them decide to bring their family here, including their kids.”

Luke didn’t look impressed.

Rey had a sudden realization that this conversation would never end well if Ben kept avoiding to get to the point.

“Luke, listen.” Rey wrapped an arm around Luke’s shoulder, Luke turned his his head to look at her.

“It’s not a good time for you to have a pet right now. I’m not gonna lie, but none of us had any experience of taking care of a cat. What if the animal had any mishaps, say it’s injured or sick, you’d be sorry for the rest of your life.”

“I won’t! I’ll be kind to it!” Luke couldn’t wait to make his resolution.

“Being kind is not enough, Luke.”

“But can’t you help it? You said Millicent was in a really bad shape when you found it, and you healed it. Didn’t you?”

“I can, and I did. But Luke, when you have your _own_ pet, it should be _your_ responsibility.” Rey replied with a severe countenance, “ _You_ are the one who’s supposed to take care of it and be accountable for it, not _me_ , not _Ben_.”

Luke lowered his head and didn’t answer, Rey knew he had taken her words in heart, so she continued.

“Other than that, you know this is not where you used to live, right?”

Luke nodded.

“You said you missed your Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen, don’t you wanna see them again?”

Luke bobbled his head.

“One day you will hear the calling. There will be like a voice in your head, telling you it’s time to go back and show you the way.”

“The voice in my head?”

“That’s right. Once you follow the voice, you will go back to where you came from, you will get to see them again.”

“Will I?”

“Sure. You know what, Ben went to another place once, just like you came _here_. Ben thought he had lost me, then one day he heard the call. So he followed the voice’s guide and came back to me. Right? Ben?”

“Right. Just follow the voice, you will know when you hear it.” Ben complemented.

 _I don’t know._ Luke thought. _I wish I have never had this conversation._

“Say if you have your pet right now, then you find out you cannot take it back with you, will you still want it?” Rey cut to the chase.

“Why can’t I take it back with me?” Luke scowled.

“That’s the tricky part, Luke. I mean, I don’t know how you came here. There are just so many uncertainties in it. A miss is as good as a mile, Luke. You take one step wrong and this whole thing could end up in disaster.” Rey paused, giving Luke some time to process all this, “You came here alone, remember? I don’t think you should bring anything back. If you do, there will be consequences, I promise you. It’s just we don’t know what the consequences would be, _yet_. But that doesn’t mean you should just do it, do I made myself clear?”

“I can’t bring _anything_ back?”

“It’s better that way.” Rey gave Luke’s shoulder a gentle squeeze, “I’ve said everything I had to say, and if you still want your cat, I’ll speak to Hux about it.”

“I ... I didn’t know that.” Luke murmured.

Rey and Ben kept saying no one knew the exact rules of how this travel worked. But Luke had already figured out the most consequential one, which was: If he returned one day, nothing or _no one_ was to go with him. He would have to go back on his own, all alone.

\---TBC---

or maybe not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Attention!** Remember when I said about there maybe a side story? You got it! Wanna know what happened between Rey and Hux in the Med Centre? How did Rey threaten Hux? Check with part 4 of this series or click here [ Millicent Strides Back](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24265729). 
> 
> Enjoy! And remember, feedbacks are always welcome!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Heads up guys! For those who read Chapter 7 before May 31st, this is very important!** I made a major plot change in the previous chapter , which means **at this point, Luke had never heard the *calling***.  
> (I deleted the part from _Luke was shocked, but he hid his astonishment_ to _Now he know the truth, and the truth frightened him_.)

Luke felt pretty upset for the next couple of days. He didn’t even visit Millicent much, he was in a better mood when kids started to arrive at the Base.

“Can I go play with other kids?” Luke asked.

Ben hesitated for a bit. The memories of Luke’s unhappy play date last time had taken root in his mind. However he had said _yes_ the other day, and seeing Luke’s face full of expectation, the concern on the tip of his tongue turned into encouragement.

“Sure. You kids have fun! Just remember to come back before supper, will you?”

“Of cour——” Luke’s answer faded while he was running away.

Perhaps things would be different this time.

* * *

Ben went back early today, to make a point of asking Luke about his first day with his new little buddies. He could hear happy laughter and cheerful voices from afar, but Luke wasn’t among them.

Ben went to Luke’s chamber on the Falcon, the ship was empty. He searched the Base with his Force, there was no trace of Luke, either.

_Where is him? He didn’t come back with the others?_

“Where is Luke?” Ben strode towards several kids and demanded.

Ben’s presence called an abrupt halt to their carefree chirps.

“He’s not here? We assumed he’s already back.” One of them replied.

“No. I thought he was with you guys, wasn’t he?” Ben’s voice was dry.

Kids huddled together, exchanging confused looks with each other.

Ben was running out of patience, he could feel his veins throbbing beneath his temples when the same boy who answered him before added in a barely audible voice, “We were playing hide and seek in the trees, but we couldn’t find him for a long time. So we thought he must get bored and left.”

_No, Luke would never do that. He must be left behind._

Ben’s mind was filled with every horrible possibilities at once. Luke getting lost in the forest, being all lonely and afraid, or worse, falling into some deep caves, being dragged away by some savage beasts——

No, no. That cannot be true. Luke would be fine. There were no such creatures on this planet, right? Yet his hands started to tremor involuntarily, his breath caught short.

He couldn’t find Luke with his Force. Ben had always had trouble in finding Luke’s Force signature. Rey was better in this.

_Rey._

_Yes?_

_Luke is missing._

_Hold on, I’ll be right back._

A kid in front of Ben started to cry without any signs.

“We didn’t know he’s still out there!” Another one whined ruefully, “Please don’t kill us!”

_What?_

Ben was stunned. Rey was trying to tell him something over their Force bond, he couldn’t focus.

These kids was afraid of him. They must think he was going to lash out or something.

Why wouldn’t they? He never had a good reputation in this, hadn’t he? There were rumors about his past all over the Base. He’s pretty sure their parents had warned them to stay away from Luke, whose father was once a monstrous murderer.

“Ben? What’s going on?” It was Rey, “I came from the Repairs as quickly as I could.”

“Luke went out with these kids today, they came back. Luke didn’t.”

“Okay, Ben. Calm down, you look _dreadful_ now, you’ve scared the little ones.” Rey glanced those kids over her shoulder, “Luke isn’t far. I could sense him, he’s still safe. I tried to reached you on my way here, you didn’t response.”

“You sure?” Ben rasped, he clenched his jaw and steadied himself.

Rey eyed him in reproach, taking offense at Ben questioning her. She turned around, bent over to face those little kids and inquired in a much more friendly tone, “It’s alright, Ben won’t blame you. Could any one of you please tell me what happened and when was the last time you saw Luke?”

A frightened girl nodded timidly and began to babbled with incoherent descriptions. Ben wasn’t paying attention, he saw people started glaring at his direction and pointing fingers out of the corner of his eye.

_How could these kids just abandon Luke like that? Luke was such a sweet, innocent child, what possibly could Luke have done wrong?_

Then the answer hit him——

Luke did nothing wrong, he was taking blame for _him_.

Ben suddenly realized that as long as he acted as Luke’s father, on one would ever truly accept him, which was quite ironic. You see, Luke’s real father, Ben’s grandfather Anakin Skywalker, or Darth Vader if you would prefer, was also someone who used to be a villain. Yet back then, no one knew. So Luke was accepted by the Rebel. Later when the rumor did spread out, Vader was dead. People remembered Luke as the one who stood up and fought his own father, the one who brought peace to the galaxy. Here in the Resistance people would only see little Luke as the son of someone who had committed unforgivable crime yet managed to get away with it. Maybe if he died fighting Palpatine on Exegol, people would love Luke more. But it was too late, he was still alive, and he was here.

_He really should let Luke go._

Ben had thought he wasn’t holding on. Then it turned out that there was still a selfish part of him which had secretly wished Luke could stay. Maybe if Luke did stay, he didn’t have to go through whatever the Spirit had, then this little Luke would turn into someone who was less angry and less bitter, someone who knew how to love and trust.

Then again, he was wrong. And now it was time to let go.

“Ben?” Rey noticed Ben’s internal turmoil.

“I ... I let him go.” Ben blurted.

“You what?”

“The _door_. Luke was still here because _I_ was holding on. And just now I ... let him go.”

“We should find him soon, at least we should say goodbye.”

Ben nodded.

* * *

  
  
The kids were playing hide and seek in the forest near the Base after noon, and when it was Luke’s turn to hide, he somehow had an inspirational flash about hiding himself up in the tree.

Luke’s strategy worked. They searched through bushes, caves, and shady places behind the rocks, on one had considered looking up. At the same time, Luke kept quiet in the branches, hiding himself behind twigs and leaves. He was excited at first, for he had found a perfect spot. Later while he was watching others circling around, looking for him, he had the idea of exposing himself by making some noises up there. Then it would spoil the fun of hide and seek, wouldn’t it? So he changed his mind. He waited and waited, finally got too tired and fell asleep.

Other kids couldn’t find him. They too were thrilled in the beginning, they decided to accept Luke’s challenge. Still there were just kids after all, and in some occasions kids could be more sensitive and subtle than we would imagine.

After wandering around in the trees in vain for about an hour, their passion cooled off, instead they got frustrated and impatient.

“Should we just called out? Tell Luke he had won, maybe he will show up?” Someone suggested.

“I don’t think he’s even here at all! We must have been looking for him for hours! We should have found him long ago if he’s here!”

“Maybe he got bored while waiting and decided to leave early?”

“That’s rude! He should at least tell us!”

“He doesn’t think we’re beneath him, does he?”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s General Organa’s grandson, isn’t he? So he’s a royal, or something like that, I think.”

“But isn’t his father a criminal?”

“Really?”

“Yeah, my mom told me to stay away from Luke’s father, she said he was a bad guy.”

“She did?”

“Absolutely! She also said ......”

Everyone seemed to have something to say, they chattered away and returned without Luke.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Rey and Ben found Luke in a tree, fast asleep.

“Luke, Luke! Wake up!” Ben was so relieved when he caught sight of him. To be honest he was a little freaked out before.

“Dad?”

“Can you climb down?” Ben said, “Never mind, just jump, I’ll catch you.”

Luke was a little light-headed for being woken up, he followed Ben’s instructions all the same and landed perfectly in his arms.

“Did I win?” Luke suddenly remember their game earlier, his eyes were still blinking sleepily.

“Yes, you won. Sweetheart, you won.” Rey answered.

Luke broke into a wide grin, his sleepiness was nowhere to be found.

“Yay! Daddy! I win!”

Ben hold him tighter.

\---TBC---

or maybe not  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me a long time. I got really distracted by my new work [ Missed](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24320803/chapters/58633669). It's a fantasy AU in which Ben is a siren and Rey a human girl. You can check with this new story if you have any interest in it.  
> And this chapter should be the second last one in She is NOT your mother. I'll wrap things up the next time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is me wrapping things up as I promised last time.

Ben waited for Luke to say something about leaving all night. He was afraid, Rey could tell. In the mean time he was also expecting it, the inevitability of it and all, as if he was somehow, trapped. And Luke’s leaving was the only key to set him free.

Luke mentioned none of it. He was cheerful, as always. Being left behind in the woods didn’t seem to bother him. To be fair he fell asleep the whole time and didn’t suffer a thing.

“Do you think Huggies would say yes if I invited my new friends to visit Millicent with me tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” Ben’s brow ceased. _There is a tomorrow?_

“Yeah, tomorrow. What’s wrong with _tomorrow_? Should I say _on the morrow_?”

“Of course not. Tomorrow is fine, I guess.” Rey said, “But I doubt Huggies would agree.”

“Humph.” Luke puffed his cheeks and slumped his shoulders in dismay.

 _What are you doing?_ Ben asked without saying a word.

Rey raised an eyebrow in question.

_Tomorrow is fine? He should be leaving by now._

_But he isn’t, is he? Since he’s still here, why don’t we make the most of it?_

_What do you mean?_

“Forget about Hux—— Huggies, what about we go to some place else tomorrow? Well, _on the morrow_?” Rey proposed. Ben paused then he grasped her intention at once.

“We? All three of us?” Luke asked.

“Sure, why not?” There was the first smile Rey had seen on Ben’s face since this morning.

“Really? Didn’t you two have work to do?” Luke sounded a bit uncertain.

“It’s always nice to play hooky.” Rey laughed a bit, “We’d ask for leave of course, we are in the Resistance, not a slave factory.”

“Just so you know, marriage leave is also a feasibility.” Ben’s smile widened into a smirk.

“Hahaha, _nice try_. I’ll go talk to Rose about the work handover, I’ll leave you two with travel details, I believe you can work out a decent plan?”

“Roger that!” Luke made a funny self-created solute, and Ben’s deep laughter followed her way out the Falcon.

She was doing the right thing, then. It broke her heart to see Ben wasted his time acting like a wounded animal. They had already lived in fear for too long. What was the saying again? _Carpe diem_ , right? _Seize the day._ Create memories when there’s still time, at least there would be something to cherish and remember.

* * *

That night, after Luke lay down in the bunk and tucked himself, looking forward to tomorrow’s new adventure, the voice he had ignored all night reappeared in his mind.

_Why didn’t you say goodbye?_

Luke rolled over and squeezed his eyes close, pretending the voice would leave once he fell asleep. Yet the calling even haunted his dreams.

_It’s time for you to leave, young Luke Skywalker._

“No, it’s not.” Luke murmured in his sleep, “I’m having a trip with Rey and dad tomorrow.”

Then somehow, the voice did retreat.

* * *

It was the most enjoyable and relaxing days Rey ever had. Before she bumped into Finn and dragged herself into war and—— Ben, she was a scavenger in nowhere. Afterwards her life was constant running, hiding and fighting. Sometimes she’d forget her dream, her dream of becoming a pilot and measuring all the planets in the galaxy, flying her own ship.

Then it was this trip. They’ve visited many different places. They went to planets covered with hard snow, with purple mountains, with growling lava and blinding smoke. That last one was too dangerous, so they just stayed on the Falcon, watching that celestial body burned itself and exploded from afar.

“What would happen after the explosion?” Luke had asked, “The planet just ... disappeared? Gone?”

“Nothing is really gone, Luke.” Ben had answered, “The planet returns itself to the universe. One day a star would catch those fragments, and after millions of trillions of years, there will be new planets in the galaxy.”

Luke nodded, despite being not fully understood. He guessed one day he would have to return himself to _his_ world. The voice he had heard was the _calling_ , wasn’t it? To call him back home. He wondered if he relived his brief, peculiar journey that didn’t belong to him in his mind over and over again, relived it with more than enough times to recite every detail, could he say that no one was really gone then?

They also went to other remote systems which were far from the fury of war, with cities and crowds, with countless skyscrapers and primitive tribes, with exotic vendors and strange celebrations. Ben had questioned whether it was a wise choice to visit places with highly intelligent beings. Rey assured him she would muddle the memories of those who had close contacts with them so that they only remembered them as a common family of three human beings. Then Ben was amused to see Rey’s annoyed look when he bugged her with all those Jedi Rules about mind control and memory alternation. Their skirmishes always ended up with messy kisses and messier touches and that was Luke’s cue to leave the room and shut the door behind him.

Luke was pleased, though, to see the way Ben and Rey were together. Because when he left, they would still have each other, no one would be alone.

Someways, it was their love that made things easier.

On the afternoon of the twelfth day of their round-the-galaxy trip, they landed in Ahch-To. And Luke realized this would be the last day when the Falcon touched down.

He just knew.

Before the old Jedi temple was burned down, Rey had packed away all the texts. There was nothing much left on the island. Even so the locals kept their daily routines and these old stone huts were still tidy and clean.

“You used to live here?” Luke was amazed.

“Actually we both lived on this island before.” Rey replied, “I only stayed here for a couple of months, but Ben for years.”

 _Is it okay for you to be here?_ Rey was also having another conversation with Ben.

_The past is past. It’s nothing._

“Wow. But why are we here? Did you left something?”

“I’m here to return this.” Rey took off the saber hilt on her belt, the one which used to belong to Luke, and Anakin before him. “So I thought we’d drop by. And this _is_ a beautiful island, if you enjoy the sea.”

 _Ah, so one more thing was returned today._ Luke watched Rey carefully pried up a brick on the wall and stashed the hilt away behind it in silence.

“I thought you’d keep it.” Ben suddenly said.

“No. I’ve always wanted to build my own saber.”

Then their conversation trailed off to Kyber crystals and various types of stabilizers while Luke’s attention got distracted by several stray progs. He went chasing after them for a while, then returned with a surprised look.

“Look who I’ve found!” Luke announced happily. A _ghost_ appeared behind him.

_The ghost of Master Skywalker, still haunted the destroyed relics._

“You better give me one good reason why you are here.” Ben looked like he was vexed.

“I only come to say goodbye.” Spirit Luke turned to face his younger self, “You’re leaving today, aren’t you?”

“He’s leaving? How did you——” Right, he _was_ him, of course he knew.

* * *

Little Luke lowered his head, avoiding eye contacts.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, “The voice called me the day before we left. But I didn’t wish to go then, so I ignored it.”

“There’s nothing for you to apologize, sweetheart.” Rey said tenderly, “I’m glad you stayed.”

“Universe in parallel, there was none, until there is.” Another ghost appeared beside Master Skywalker, a small and wrinkled one. Little Luke was no longer afraid of these ghosts any more. He raised his head, unshed tears in his eyes. He thought he was going to cry his eyes out when the time did come, but he didn’t.

“Too much one wants something, changes the rules will make.” Spirit Master Yoda said matter of factly.

_So Ben did let him go that day, yet it was Luke who chose to stay._

Ben was much calmer than the last time. He bent down and picked Luke up, held him like the time back in Tatooine, like the time on Exegol and the time under the tree he had fallen asleep in.

“It’s alright. It’s not your fault. Take care of yourself when you get back, okay?”

“I still don’t want to go.” Luke sobbed a little, “But I have to.”

“I know.”

* * *

They stayed on the island for a little longer. Ahch-To wasn’t a bad place to spent the time on a lovely day.

They were sitting on a rock, watching the sunset, a huge orange fireball slowly sinking its way into sea level.

“I overheard you talking with that tiny ghost earlier.” Little Luke spoke out of nowhere, “He said the hidden passage between worlds could only be bridged when you wanted something so bad.”

“That’s true.”

“So did you find what you were looking for?” Little Luke said, “When you accidently pulled me here.”

“I found you.” Ben answered before he bid Luke farewell.

* * *

It was late in the middle of night, after Ben and Rey both taking off. Two translucent shadows still lingered beneath the relics.

_“Will he remember any of these?”_

_“Maybe, maybe not. His choice, it is.”_

\---The End---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ... this is it, the end of this story and also the end of this series. I don’t know how you would feel about it. This is actually the third version of ending and a much less heartbreaking one, trust me. Though our baby Luke didn’t cry his eyes out the day he left, I cried like an idiot **twice** while writing this chapter.
> 
> The part about how a new planet is forming was based on the old theory. I did my research, new theories claim it has something to do with the black hole. This is just a fanfic, not a popular science, so I went with the old one. And the last conversation between Ben and Luke was inspired by the movie Alita: Battle Angel.
> 
> I think there will be a epilogue coming after, nothing concerning the plot, just some blabber I want to say about everything during my creation. Well if you have no interest in that just stop right here. Looking forward to seeing your feedbacks, whether you like this ending or not, it’s both okay. I just wanted to hear your voices.
> 
> I wish to thank each and every one of you who ever leave your prints (kudos, comments, bookmarks and hits, of course) on this series. I could never finish this without you guys.
> 
> Again, thank you so much! Hope I could see you soon in my new work [ Missed.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24320803/chapters/58633669)


	10. Afterword

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some silly words.

I said I would write an epilogue, but when I actually sit down and start to write, I suddenly lost words for it. I guess this is life then.  
  
I am just grateful, so grateful that I managed to finish this story, to come up with a decent ending (at least I hope). A week ago I thought I was never gonna finish it. Well maybe in that way baby Luke gets to stay with Ben and Rey forever (what a dangerous thought).

This whole series started with an uninvited thought during my afternoon walk three months ago. I already forgot how I got the idea in the first place, but you had to admit it was a hilarious notion to sent Kylo Ren back to fifty years ago in Tatooine and made baby Luke call him father. And that was _I am NOT your father_. I thought it was a one time thing then. I wrote one chapter and didn’t even tick the little box stating “This work had multiple chapters” when I posted it. I thought, right, it’s just some funny time travel one-shots, nothing more. But I received some really inspiring feedbacks that day, so I decided to continue the story.  
  
Back then the Covid-19 was spreading. I was not allowed to go back to school so I had to stay at home and write my graduation thesis (I am this year’s post-graduates). So basically I spent everyday writing something, either academic or fanfic. There was a time that I was worried whether I could finish my dissertation in time since I spent too much time on my works. To be honest I finished 10 works within six months and there was another one which I am still working on it. Writing in my second language was too time consuming. Other than writing I also had to spent time reading English materials everyday just to keep my sense of the language.  
  
Regardless, I continued. I didn’t have an outline. But it’s fun to draw random inspirations from my daily life. The lizard thing was inspired by me going fishing with my dad. And since I have never spent much time with kids, it’s difficult to portrait five-year-olds. Then I began to observe kids in my neighbourhood and in other occasions. (Not in a creepy way!!!)  
  
I finished _I am NOT your father_ in April. I thought, this is it, no further drama or anything when snowie130 left a comment, telling me my story gave him/her feelings. And he/she was subscribing just in case I would ever write more in this AU.  
  
Oh dear, how flattered I was.  
  
Two weeks later (new term hadn’t started yet), I handed in my dissertation for review and then began to write _She is NOT your mother_. I really suck at titles. I was gonna name it _I am NOT your son_ in the beginning then I thought better of it.   
  
Writing became easier as I write more. So the chapter length was getting longer. I had a great deal of fun writing the first five chapters. Then I was told the school was reopened. Graduation season was really tiring. And the sudden change of environment made things even more difficult. Therefore I spent more time composing and rewrote a lot. My beta thought it was a shame just to loose those ideas, so there came the side stories. My beta, lzxizxl, who is really supporting, stayed with me the whole time and gave me lots of encouragement when I had doubts and second thoughts, and of course, you guys are also the best!  
  
Anyway, I managed to justify this time travel/parallel universe thing and give this series a somewhat reasonable ending. I hope you had enjoyed this series. 

❤️

AAMain  
2020.6.27


End file.
